The pothole builders of Belltown

As the city’s latest construction project was grinding its way toward the Two Bells Tavern on 4th Avenue, I asked the proprietor how many times in this decade the street has been ripped up outside his door.

The answer: Four times in eight years.

The Seattle Department of Transportation seems to operate according to the maxim of Maximum Feasible Inconvenience.

Consider the picture Thursday morning in Belltown. Heading north on 4th Avenue, motorists were shunted into a right lane as they drove past Macy’s. A couple blocks along, they were redirected into two left lanes.

It’s called “The Veer” — not in honor of the football offense pioneered at the University of Houston, but the offensive actions of city transportation bureaucrats.

Even on steep hills — particularly, in recent years, going down Madison Streets — motorists have found themselves directed first one way, then the other. The Department of Transportation blandly says this is “legal.”

But is it safe?

If you want an alternative to the blocks-long mess on 4th Avenue, the natural choice is 3rd Avenue. Here, however, the northbound lanes are also ripped up — with pedestrian traffic being directed into one shut-down car lane.

Once more, there’s a pattern.

Last year, I had to attend a funeral at Temple De Hirsch Sinai, near 15th and Union. It was interesting to watch disgruntled mourners arrive late. Why? Resurfacing was underway on Madison Street, but a construction project was also obstructing traffic on Cherry Street. First Hill was in early afternoon gridlock.

Why can’t the city display a modest use of intelligence, and assure that one arterial remains unobstructed while contractors or pothole builders are blocking off the next one down?

The answer: We learned the intelligence of the Department of Transportation in last December’s snowstorm. Its motto ought to be, “An Obstruction for All Seasons.”